We ain't Deadmonds anymore! | Mayor's Corner

Many of you have wondered whether I will seek another term as mayor of Edmonds.

I have spent considerable time with my family and a handful of friends weighing the decision for several months. Although this is a hard decision, I have decided not to run for a third term.

I'm pleased with where the city is at nearly eight years after I first ran for mayor. City Hall was in chaos then, and I'm proud it's more stable, prosperous and productive now. The time is right for me to move on to other things in my life.

Originally, I planned to announce this decision later in the spring, but since candidates are beginning to make announcements now, I want to clear the field for a robust race to produce a qualified, new mayor. And I know potential candidates will need time to organize and campaign.

It's hard work.

I hope the public selects a candidate who demonstrates both in-depth knowledge of our community and relationship-building skills to advance a quality agenda in the city and the region, not to mention manage a staff of 230 quality employees and budgets of over $100 million.

It has been my honor to serve as your mayor, an experience I will always cherish. Meeting new people in the community, experiencing the joy within the city and working on important, challenging issues as we have moved forward together has been both enjoyable and rewarding.

I'll speak more to some of these issues with our city in my March 7 State of the City address, but for now I would like to highlight some of what we've accomplished.

Our community has renewed energy and vitality. We have stabilized our city finances, broadened our demographics as younger families choose to live here, attracted new businesses, improved places where the community can gather, supported the arts, and advanced Edmonds as a daytime destination.

As a friend said to me recently, "I feel like Edmonds has finally arrived!"

A major piece of "arriving" has to do with catching up on overdue public works/engineering projects, including some which were a result of the last recession.

Our city employees have made dramatic and significant progress in road resurfacing, waterline, sewer, stormwater projects, and include major intersection/roadway improvements efforts such as Highway 99/228th, 76th/212th and 212th/84th (Five Corners roundabout).

We have brought our public spaces far in the past several years. The purchase of Civic Field and its pending redevelopment is a legacy project we will leave for the use of future generations. The waterfront has been dramatically improved, the fishing pier has been refurbished, and significant improvements have been made in virtually every park in the city.

Edmonds has become known as a fabulous family destination in part because of these spaces.

I have also focused our city government on new ways of communicating with its citizens. That includes monthly mayoral columns, a stream of city news to Edmonds Beacon and My Edmonds News, town halls across the community, the city quarterly newsletter, our city Facebook page, and various media events, all highlighting work, activities and success in the community.

I believe government serves its constituents better with transparent information sharing and discussion.

Together we have grown and reshaped the attitude, the finances and the future of Edmonds, all while improving the quality of life in our community.

All across the city changes are visible and inspiring. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve and look forward to being your mayor for the remainder of my term.